1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system for electrical power usage metering and, more specifically, to an improved system and equipment configuration for providing electrical metering functions directly on the power distribution line.
2. Description of the Background
In developed countries, electricity is supplied to homes and businesses via an electric power distribution system, or “grid”, over which electricity is carried via high voltage transmission lines from a power generation station to one or more substations. From substations, electricity at a lower voltage is transmitted through distribution or service lines to individual customers, i.e. homes and businesses, throughout the distribution network. Commonly, the lower-voltage service lines that distribute power directly to individual customers take the form of overhead power lines supported by utility poles, which can support service lines from substations to within a few feet of the customer's home or business. In other areas, service lines are buried in insulated casings between substations and customers' premises. Power is supplied from the service line to the customer's premises through a “service drop” or “service lateral”, i.e. a branch of the service line that extends from the main service line to the customer's premises.
In the United States and elsewhere, electric power generated by power plants is supplied to individual customers at a predetermined or market-driven rate, usually measured as a cost per kilowatt hour (kWh). In a conventional power distribution system, the cost of electricity for individual consumers is based on their individual energy consumption at each home or business at which power is supplied. Energy consumption for each premise is most commonly measured using an electricity meter connected to the service drop for those particular premises at the point where it enters the customer's property. The most common type of prior art electricity meter is an electromechanical meter, which measures electricity consumption by counting the revolutions of a metal disc, the speed of which is proportionate to the amount of electricity passing through the meter and into the premises due to the action of a set of electric coils on the disc. The number of rotations is mechanically tracked by the meter and recorded on a series of display dials, which must periodically be read manually by a representative from the power supplier to determine energy consumption for the property and bill the consumer accordingly.
More recently, energy suppliers and/or public utilities have begun to utilize electronic meters with some energy consumers. These more advanced prior art electricity meters electronically record energy consumption, allowing them to record additional energy consumption parameters such as peak or low consumption rates, correlate energy consumption to a time of day, etc. Prior art electronic meters typically display energy consumption via an electronic display on the unit itself. Although some newer “smart meters” are capable of transmitting energy consumption readings directly to the power supplier or public utility, others require in-person readings by an employee of one of these entities in order to obtain proper readings and bill the consumer accordingly.
As with each of the prior art electricity meters described herein, conventional electronic meters are installed upon the exterior or within the interior of the customer's home or business, usually affixed to a “meter base” or other structure on or in the consumer's property. Current power distribution systems do not comprise electricity meters capable of being mounted anywhere other than a meter base. When a power supply system is installed (or upgraded) in a home or business facility, the electricity meter is supplied by the energy supplier or utility company, which continues to own and maintain not only the electricity meter but also the service drop and distribution lines. The property owner, on the other hand, continues to own and maintain not only his or her real property and the structure(s) thereon to which power is supplied, but the “meter base” or any other structure to which the electricity meter is mounted and at which point the service drop is connected to the electricity system of the individual premises. In addition to original installation and/or upgrades to the power supply system of a given premises, the energy supplier or utility company must also perform regular and emergency maintenance and repairs, as well as routine safety checks, on the equipment owned by them. In areas where new construction of homes or businesses is ongoing, or where energy suppliers or utility companies are in the process of converting to updated metering installations, construction crews require ample access to power supply installations to perform these functions.
Prior art consumer power supply configurations requires that the property owner and/or tenant periodically allow access for representatives of the utility company or energy supplier to enter their property and/or premises and to work on equipment attached to portions of the structure owned by the property owner and/or adjacent to personal property of the owner or tenant. Moreover, for some maintenance issues and/or safety hazards associated with the energy distribution system, liability as between the property owner and the energy supplier and/or utility company may be unclear because the property owned by respective parties is so integrally connected. Thus, damage to the distribution line(s) and/or electricity meter(s) within or connected to the consumer's property may cause a dispute without a clear answer as to whether liability should rest on the supplier, based on installation or maintenance issues with the equipment, or the consumer, based on upkeep issues or lack of access granted to the supplier. In addition, electricity meters installed on the customer's property or inside of a customer's premises pose a danger to the consumer in the form of fire damage to the consumer or his property and electrical shock to persons in the vicinity, and are themselves susceptible to damage from tampering, vandalism, theft, low level flooding or other hazards that may be present on or in the consumer's property.
What is needed is an improved system for electric power distribution that provides a clear demarcation point between the equipment and installations owned and maintained by the consumer and that owned and maintained by the energy supplier and/or utility company. It would also be advantageous if such a system was arranged such that the equipment and installations owned and maintained by the energy supplier and/or utility company were accessible to representatives of that entity for maintenance, repair and upgrade without requiring the property owner to grant access to same, and without said representatives being required to enter onto or interfere with the consumer's property and/or premises to perform said work. Such an improved system would also advantageously allow energy suppliers and/or utility companies to monitor or read energy consumption levels remotely, or without entering onto the customer's property. Moreover, what is needed is an energy distribution system wherein individual components thereof can be added, removed or replaced as needed without the need to remove or replace the complete assembly or to enter onto the customer's premises and perform work on or within the consumer's property.